Yesterday our little “Rose” turned 4 years old! How perfect for it to fall on Gaudete Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Advent, this year! Her older brothers made sure to point out to her at Mass that “Even the priest is wearing PINK!” 🙂 We have been without running water since Friday morning… Despite the additional challenges, we still had a lovely and JOY filled day!
Last Sunday Mass was cancelled due to hazardous driving conditions. We were all so happy to be able to make it down our road and attend Mass this Sunday. My grocery shopping has been limited and before we left I was trying to find a quick and easy snack/breakfast for the little ones – we had run out of cereal, and I completely forgot that my mom had dropped off a box of cereal. We happened to have some strawberry yogurt in the back of the fridge! (Her dad also found some pink lemonade hidden in the freezer!) Topped with a few sprinkles it made the perfect breakfast for our little princess!
After Mass we drove through the coffee shop for her “Not-so-Hot” birthday drink!
I just loved all her reactions – Picture #1 Smiling at the thought of her very own hot warm cocoa. picture #2 Begging that “Snuggles” could PLEASE have his own drink too! (If not she’d share hers… she loves that big brother of hers!) Picture #3: Seeing the birthday drink being passed through the window to her daddy! Picture #4: Getting ready to enjoy her treat!
When we arrived home again she pulled out all her favorite cookbooks and got busy making her own birthday plans!
My girls all love the cookbooks from Barbara Beery including the Pink Princess Cookbook, Pink Princess Tea Parties, and Fairies Cookbook. (Oh, and actually one of the girls will find this one, a paperback swap score that arrived in perfect condition, under the tree this year!)
“Mom-ah, You can’t call me the birthday girl until there is a birthday cake-uh!”
Right… The Cake…
I usually bake and decorate the children’s birthday cakes the night before their birthday. Between our lack of running water and helping my mom on a project all of Saturday, I just wasn’t able to make her cake. I also didn’t have all the supplies I needed for my original plans.
I decided to keep it extra simple this year and make the Pink Princess Cake, minus the Tiara… and the actual recipe. I just used a box of white cake mix and a can of cherry frosting. She loved it!
While I was busy decorating the cake I pulled out some Candy Necklaces that had been in my candy supplies since her last birthday.
I did have a couple bags of Pink and White Celebration Sixlets that I had picked up at the store and they were such a pretty addition to the cake!
Rose’s favorite though, were the “Three Girls” for on top of the cupcakes! (I did end up baking a batch of cupcakes too…) My girls have this little song they made up and sing together (that drive’s their brothers crazy…) that starts with “We are the THREEEEE girls….”
I pulled these three princesses out of the Meri Meri Princess Bake Cup Set, and are they CUTE or what?! I love them!!! Four came in the set, but I just pulled out a couple sets of these three – one for each of my girls.
For an afternoon craft, we made Flower Tiaras! Since we had company for Thanksgiving, I didn’t do much shopping on Black Friday, but Sean and I did go into town in the evening and stopped at a few stores including Barnes & Noble. (They usually have Buy One, Get One 1/2 off on all their toys.) Most of Rose’s birthday gifts were purchased that day, including these adorable Flowery Princess Tiaras!
While I boiled water to hand wash the dishes, my girls sat at the counter and stitched away!
They were so easy to make (recommended for ages 4+) and even Rose was able to help!
They turned out beautiful, much to the delight of our birthday girl!
I’m so glad I had ordered a couple Meri Meri items! In addition to the Princess Bake Cup Set I also had ordered some I’m a Princess Party Garland. It was much larger than I had expected, but it was so pretty and made the decorations a piece of cake… Or at least a “piece of cake” when you have running water, electricity, etc! 😉
I missed seeing the pom-poms in the back of the package at first and the garland looked even cuter once they were added. I hung it in the window along with the pink birthday banner I made in the past and have re-used a couple times.
I had considered the Castle Centerpiece, but it was just too expensive and the girls Melissa and Doug Castle is so much prettier anyways, even if it was a little large for a table centerpiece! 🙂
We spent the afternoon driving down to town to use the shower at my dad’s office in shifts = JOY JOY JOY!!! After dinner it was time for cake and birthday gifts!
I used a mix of paper I already had in pinks, white and gold…
… and snapped this picture of them all before wrapping!
In addition to the new pink Floral Glitter Belt Dress and Tiaras, this year she received a pretty pink coat ($14.99 at Costco!), a couple additional toys I had picked up at Barnes & Noble on Black Friday including Calico Critter’s The Hopper Kangaroo Family and the Princess Matching Game. We also gave her Emily.
She also received three books including A is for Annabelle by Tasha Tudor, 1001 Things to Spot in Fairyland (to replace the older girls well loved copy, also available directly from Usborne), and P is for Princess: A Royal Alphabet.
It made us all laugh when she unwrapped P is for Princess: A Royal Alphabet and Snuggles said “Oh, NO! ANOTHER princess book.” She ran over to the couch to show him and he covered his ears and shut his eyes before saying “I can’t see it! I can’t see it!”
She then ran over to give her dad a thank you hug, before unwrapping her last gift (Emily – who I purchased last summer, after hearing that she and Molly were being retired) and playing with all her new little toys.
We actually had cake before she opened her gifts, but I’ll end the post with these pictures. She asked if we could use the rose candles for her cake and I agreed they were perfect and most appropriate, especially on Gaudete Sunday!
Happy 4th Birthday to our beautiful “Christmas Rose!”
What a lovely, heart-warming post! It looks like you all enjoyed a lovely day with Rose, despite the material hardship of no running water. The cake looks fantastic; sometimes the last-minute things just fall into place and work so well. Hoping the water is restored soon.
Such a beautiful way to celebrate your Christmas Rose. I think I started reading your blog during your pregnancy with her, maybe a bit before. Happy Birthday to her!
It's all so incredibly perfectly pink-uh! The picture of her hugging her Daddy is the best!
You pulled all of that off without any water? Wow, you continue to amaze me! I love everything, from the decorations to the gifts. And the fact that her birthday was on Gaudete Sunday, even more precious!!!! Thanks for posting about the party.
Happy Birthday, dear sweet Rose! What a lovely celebration for your little girl, and such a perfect day. I love all the pictures (especially the one with her pa), and seeing your thoughtfulness in all of the gifts and decor. (and dear Snuggles cracked me up! poor guy, but The Three are outnumbered so he can't complain too much 🙂 ) God bless!
What a beautiful celebration! You wouldn't have known you needed to go to the store…you made everything so nice with what you had on hand. I love the picture of her and her daddy…too sweet!!
Happy birthday precious beloved child. God smile upon you and be so gracious to you!!!
Happy Birthday to your little princess! What a pretty pink birthday!
Such a sweet party. I love how you used so many things that you had already–the yogurt, sprinkles, cake mix, castle, etc.!! I just ordered the Meri Meri garland for an upcoming 7-year-old's party (2 days after Christmas!), and seeing the gifts made me giggle–I have the Calico Critters Kangaroo family for my own soon-to-be-4 girl's birthday next month! Great minds…. ;o) Becky
Beautiful pink princess birthday! You're so talented!
Happy Birthday Rose!! impressive party for all you have going on. Those rose tiaras look like so much fun. I know some girls who would love them.
Magical! A perfect princess birthday! 🙂
OH! She is just so beautiful!! She will always remember the perfection in this day (even though her mama had no water!) I have that A is for Annabelle and it is ADORABLE! I wish I had received it when I was four 🙂 Birthday blessings to your sweet princess!
This is a great party! Link that tiara! I love it! You did an amazing job! It's so great that her birthday fell on Rose Sunday! 🙂 Blessings!
OOPS, I see the link! I just missed it on the first review! I should know you better by now to link up all your ideas!
Pink is my favorite color, so I love Rose's birthday party! And how perfect to fall on Gaudete Sunday!
Rose is truly one of the cutest little girls I've ever seen. What a great day for her! Well done, Jessica!
–Danielle
Jessica, I so admire how you make each Birth Day celebration for each of your beautiful children as unique and as special as that little person is. The Princess Birth Day party is so feminine and whimsical and just so lovely for your darling little Rose~ which describes her sweet little personality and her love for pink. I marvel at each Birth Day celebration you create each year for each one of your children. Amazing creativity you have! How very Blessed your children are to have such loving wonderful parents. You are such an inspiration! Happy Birthday to your little Princess and may God continue to Bless your dear family. Sincerely, Debbie
Wow she has grown!! Such a sweet girl 😉 you always do such a wonderful job making memories for your kiddos.
What an amazing birthday! So lovely!